According to well known prior art, the curved outside wall portions of single reed mouthpieces slope downward immediately on either side of the lay surface, on both sides of the reed. It has been found that when playing the mouthpiece, this immediate downward sloping often allows and causes the sides of a player's lips (embouchure) to exert undue pressure on the reed and stifle its vibrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,947 (Houser) discloses one approach to solving this problem. In particular, the Houser patent teaches an attachment member which surrounds the end of the mouthpiece, including the reed. By completely enveloping the reed, the attachment member permits the lip of the player to depress the lower surface of the reed while, at the same time, preventing undue pressure from being exerted against it.
The device of Houser suffers from the disadvantage of requiring a modified mouthpiece and an expensive, complex connection of the attachment member thereto. The attachment member and mouthpiece of Houser are cumbersome and bulky, and would not provide a player with the "feel" of a standard mouthpiece.